Macbeth
Austin Gardiner
Macbeth's down fall
Even though Macbeth's ambition and the supernatural had a role in Macbeth's downfall, the biggest factor of his down fall was Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth pressured him into killing Duncan when he was going to back out of it. Lady Macbeth did "'fear thy nature;It is too full o' the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way; thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. what thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily"' (Shakespere33).
Lady Macbeth feared Macbeth would be too guilty. She advised him to "'Only look up clear. To alter favor is to fear. Leave all the rest to"'(Shakespere37). Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth that everything will be alright if he just acts like nothing is wrong and does not show his guilt.
Lady Macbeth even went as far as questioning his manhood after he killed king Duncan. Macbeth felt incredibly guilty about this. Lady Macbeth claimed he '" unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things"' (Shakespere57). Lady Macbeth accused Macbeth of having a lack of will power to just get over the fact he killed someone.
Dramatic Irony
The dramatic Irony in Macbeth was when Lady Macbeth was so welcoming of King Duncan's surprise visit. This was a dramatic irony because of the way Lady Macbeth treated him. She was deceptively nice to the king, knowing Macbeth would kill him the next day: "All our service In every point twice done, and then done double, Were poor and single business to contend Against those honors deep and broad where with Your Majesty loads our house" (Shakespere39). Lady Macbeth is claiming that nothing can match the generosity of Duncan. She is trying to get on good intention's with Duncan so there doings would be less suspicious.
Symbolism
The blood on Macbeth's hands were a symbol of guilt after killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth says that washing the blood off his hands "clears us of this deed" (shakespere59). Lady Macbeth is trying to say that if the blood is out of sight, the wrongful deed will be out of mind. At this point in the story, Lady Macbeth is afraid of Macbeth crumpling under all the guilt. So, she thought that if the blood was off his hands, he would not think of the murder as much and feel less guilty.
Comic Relief
The Porter's joke about alcohol lightens the mood after a tragic death, making it a comic relief. The joke was saying that alcohol makes a lover a failure: "It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance" (Shakespere61). By the porter saying this, it provides comedic value to the audience and gives them a relief from the tragedy of the death of Duncan.
Song: Nothing by The Script
In the song, Nothing by The Script, it says that the singer is better off without his girlfriend: "They say I'm better off now then I ever was with her" (The script). This can be related to Macbeth. Macbeth might have been better off not listening to Lady Macbeth and just backing out of killing Duncan. He did not have to kill anybody. The prophecy from the witches said that Macbeth would be king but did not say that he must kill king Duncan. If Macbeth would have waited to be king and not killed the king, the end result might change. Macbeth might have died of natural causes and Lady Macbeth might not have killed herself.
The Script - Nothing